97Corsitruck Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 So I recently got my 1997 Lumina up and running after the LIM replacement, however, i have white smoke in my exhaust at start up. I thought It was just that it hadn't been ran in a good 2 years, as after warm up the smoke went away, but then while doing a coolant flush, steam came out of the pepcock, and the smoke returned to the exhaust, leading me to believe that I have a blown head gasket, or a warped or cracked head. No coolant has mixed with the oil since the LIM was done, but its looking like I have a bad head/gasket. I got offered 300 to rebuild my heads completely, if they arent warped or cracked. I do not know the history of the motor, but I was told by the previous owner that the car had been parked, and when a hopeful buyer took it for a test drive, it overheated and they parked it. Today I came across someone selling the heads from a 1995 lumina 3100, fully rebuilt, 0 miles since the rebuild, for 200. I'm broke (freaking wage garnishment) So saving a good hundred bucks (or possibly more if I need new castings for the head) sounds real good to me. What Im curious about is if the heads on a 95 3100 are the same as the heads on a 97. I cant find any information on this so far, so I figured I'd come ask the experts 1997 Lumina M Vin code 3100 99k miles LIM done, no coolant/oil mix (so far) White smoke/steam? in the exhaust Anyways, if anyone here has any information here I would greatly appreciate it. Ps;; I will be doing a compression test, coolant pressure test and carbon test later this evening, as well as putting new gas and a new fuel filter in her, as the current fuel filter and 1/8th of a tank of gas in the tank is from 2008, trying to eliminate everything before the head gasket diagnosis, and this car is in VERY good shape, very clean, and I am more then willing to put a few bucks at her to get a good daily driver, as driving the 50 mile round trip daily to work is killing me in my chevy big block dually. I believe I've given all the information that you'd need to give me an honest opinion, if i left anything out please let me know. If it matters, she runs amazing since the LIM replacement Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95 vert Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 Easiest way to check, http://www.blockchek.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 95 and 97 heads are almost identical, however, the 97 will definitely have the provisions for and be equipped with roller rockers, whereas the 95 heads MIGHT have the provisions, but will likely not have the roller rockers. other than that, the only other possible difference i can think of is that the 95 heads will have single wire coolant temp sender in addition to the 2 wire sensor in the LIM, whereas the 96 and up heads have them both integrated into a single sensor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 (edited) you can use the 95 heads in place of the 97 heads, but you might have to grab the 94-95 rockers and related hardware if the heads do not have the grooves for roller rockers (I have a full set you can get from me if needed), plus you may need a plug to seal the temp senor port which will go unused. alternatively, I have been intending to cut grooves into a set of heads with a dremel to use 96+ roller rockers, but that is definitely not a task for the faint of heart...... before we go that far... does the exhaust smell sweet? You still have the potential of it being really bad gas... i would run some HEET and good gas though to see if the problem still exists. Edited March 12, 2011 by Crazy K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97Corsitruck Posted March 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Thanks for the replies guys. I hadn't ran coolant until tonight, and after a system bleed and a warm up, smoke poured outfrom under the hood heavily. Smelt like burning coolant, the back head. So, my day ruined, the Top end will be torn apart tomorrow for the heads to be checked, if the castings are bad, I'll get the 95's and look into the plug you were referring to, and if not I'll Just rebuild the old ones, but not a doubt the headgaskets gone out back, real bad news on my part -.-;;, but on the other hand, after this 400 dollar job, the 100 I was into the lim, I'll have a good running good condition 1997 lumina 3100 with a rebuilt top end for 1000 bucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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